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TradeStation President John Bartleman: Cryptocurrency "Here to Stay"

December 5, 2017

Cryptocurrency has investors in a frenzy, with some swearing by it, and others warning of instability and bubbles. In the pro-crypto camp is John Bartleman, president at digital brokerage firm TradeStation, who believes that digital currency is the future.

“I think this is here to stay, I think we are in the early days, somewhat like the internet in the early 80s, early 90s” he said.

Bitcoin is the top cryptocurrency now, shooting up the charts and, in a matter of weeks, jumping from $8,000 to over $11,000. Some analysts say there’s no reason for the hike, and swear the bubble is about to burst.

JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon, one of the most notable naysayers, says the Bitcoin currency is a fraudulent system, too often used for illicit purposes. Similarly, the CBOE recently announced it will launch Bitcoin futures trading as of December 10th, offering free trading through the month of December. The exchange says the move will provide “transparency, efficient price discovery, deep liquidity, and centralized clearing,” to investors.

Bartleman does agree that there is a lot of fraud as of now, and that the digital currency can see a correction, but he contends that “there’s real value in [crypto].”

“In the next five years, I think we will find ourselves in a place where retail customers will be interactive, trading in different type of crypto companies,” Bartleman said.